last year, apple’s long time chief design officer, jony ive, announced he would depart the company. ive, who is responsible for the look and feel of all major apple products, including the iPhone and the mac, worked at apple for more than 20 years. soon after, he started his own design company called LoveFrom together with longtime friend and fellow designer marc newson. in fact, they created a ring entirely cut from a solid block of lab-grown diamond.

 

fast forward to today, brian chesky — airbnb’s co-founder and CEO — has announced that jony ive and his studio LoveFrom will be working for airbnb.

jony ive, apple's former chief design officer, now works for airbnb

 

 

‘I’m thrilled to announce that jony and his partners at LoveFrom will be engaging in a special collaboration with me and the airbnb team,’ reads the official airbnb release. ‘we have made the decision to work together through a multi-year relationship to design the next generation of airbnb products and services. jony will also help us continue to develop our internal design team, which he believes to be one of the world’s best. I know he is particularly excited about a relationship that will evolve to become a deep collaboration with our creative team.’

 

since its inception, airbnb has placed design at its core — both its founders studied industrial design at RISD, bringing a design-driven approach to the company. from the business model, to their system of trust, creation of new products and offerings, airbnb claims to approach any design as if it were a design problem.

 

‘jony and I have been good friends for many years, and he has been gracious enough to provide me with guidance and advice,’ chesky continues. ‘we share the same belief in the value and importance of creativity and design. we each believe not only in making objects and interfaces, but in crafting services and experiences. we’ve seen how design can facilitate trust and enable more human connection, something people are desperate for during an unprecedented time of loneliness and disconnection.’